Friday, July 3, 2015

July
3, 2015 (NATIONALREVIEW) “We do not seek a cold, let alone a hot war with
Russia. We do not seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake: We will
defend our allies, the rules-based international order, and the positive future
it affords us all.”

So said Secretary of Defense Ash
Carter on June 22. Secretary Carter is on a dual-focus mission in Europe: He
wants to deter Russian president Vladimir Putin from further military
adventures, and to reassure American allies that President Obama is committed
to NATO. Pursuing those ends, he outlined how the U.S. military will contribute
to NATO’s new “Very High Readiness Joint Task Force” (VJTF). While America’s
exact contribution to the VJTF isn’t yet clear, it will involve aviation-lift
capabilities (which EU nations sorely lack), intelligence-gathering platforms
(which EU nations sorely lack), navy and air-force assets (which EU nations
sorely lack), and special-operations forces (which most EU nations sorely lack).